Effects of Vocal Training on Students’ Voices in a Professional Drama School

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of vocal training on acoustic and aerodynamic characteristics of student actors’ voices. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Tertiary medical facility speech and swallow center. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Acoustic, aerodynamic, and Voice Handicap Index–10 measures were collected from 14 first-year graduate-level drama students before and after a standard vocal training program and analyzed for changes over time. RESULTS: Among the aerodynamic measures that were collected, mean expiratory airflow was significantly reduced after vocal training. Among the acoustic measures that were collected, mean fundamental frequency was significantly increased after vocal training. On average, Voice Handicap Index–10 scores were unchanged after vocal training. CONCLUSION: The cohort of drama students undergoing vocal training demonstrated improvements in voice aerodynamics, which indicate enhanced glottal efficiency after training. The present study also found an increased average fundamental frequency among the actors during sustained voicing and no changes in jitter and shimmer despite frequent performance.